Attention!!! Pro Sports Daily will be down on Wednesday morning from 5:00am - 7:00am eastern time for database maintenance. All Sports Direct Inc. properties will be down during this scheduled outage.
Sorry for any inconvenience that this outage may cause.

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Anthony Ranaudo will have a better year this year! another name that could be a future #1 top prospect is Bryce Brentz look for him to have another steller season this year!

I'm really interested in seeing how Ranaudo does this year. He started off strong last year but then he kind of fell apart a bit. I know some were speculating that it was just simply him battling through his first year after all those elbow problems. If that's simply the case, great, if not his ceiling may not be that high at all.

Also I really think Junichi Tazawa can be a big help for us out of the pen this year. He's got the ability to go multiple innings and his velocity was up post TJ.

His velocity is the same was it was in 2009 coming out the pen. He hit 94 at yankee stadium as a reliever then. I think his future is a reliever and that curveball is just nasty. if he can paints corner and finish hitters off with his offspeed he could be a late inning guy.

I'm really interested in seeing how Ranaudo does this year. He started off strong last year but then he kind of fell apart a bit. I know some were speculating that it was just simply him battling through his first year after all those elbow problems. If that's simply the case, great, if not his ceiling may not be that high at all.

I think he got rock early in high A but was better in the last couple of starts. His celing most scout has a a #3-4.

Barnes is much more interesting. He could be what was expected out of Bard, a top rotation starter. We'll see. I like his chances.

I think he got rock early in high A but was better in the last couple of starts. His celing most scout has a a #3-4.

Barnes is much more interesting. He could be what was expected out of Bard, a top rotation starter. We'll see. I like his chances.

And not even really that- he had one blow-up start in late July (7 ER in 3 2/3) and outside of that didn't allow more than 4 ER in a start all season.

Personally I think the makeup for a strong 2012 is there. He struck out a lot of guys, and I think with a full season under his belt he may be able to avoid some of the fatigue problems that set in to end 2011. He's got two plus pitches with a big arm. The upside is there for him to really take a step forward this year.

That's the same as my top 3. Xander has too short a track record and WMB has too many red flags for me to put them over Lavarnway. I think Lavarnway has a higher ceiling and floor than WMB

I agree on Xander, he's too unproven to be #1. But I wouldn't put Lavs above WMB, because even if Middlebrooks has got some huge question marks, he's still playing good defense at a premier position. You don't need strong offense to become a legit 3B in the league nowadays.
If Ryan was at least an average catcher, he'd be the #1 by a pretty good margin.

I think he got rock early in high A but was better in the last couple of starts. His celing most scout has a a #3-4.

Barnes is much more interesting. He could be what was expected out of Bard, a top rotation starter. We'll see. I like his chances.

I'm not talking stat wise with Ranaudo, I'm talking stuff wise. Most scouts who saw him early in the season left pretty impressed with him, it's a far contrast from the scouts who saw him later in the year.

I agree on Xander, he's too unproven to be #1. But I wouldn't put Lavs above WMB, because even if Middlebrooks has got some huge question marks, he's still playing good defense at a premier position. You don't need strong offense to become a legit 3B in the league nowadays.If Ryan was at least an average catcher, he'd be the #1 by a pretty good margin.

Acually, his catching has improved a lot. I read somewhere that he was now "barley below average/average".

I'm surprised to see Cecchini below Swihart. Blake hasn't even played while Garin had a really great year in Lowell.

Can't the same be said for Barnes (#4) being ranked ahead of Ranaudo (#5)?

Originally Posted by SirHizz

Very great list and phenomenal job by RedSoxtober. Thank you.

From what I see...my 1-3 is completely accurate with this one and most of the other guys are just switched by 1-3 spots. I am surprised Coyle didn't make the PSD's top 10.

5-9 were very tightly bunched but Iglesias (10.5) and Coyle (11.38) had average rankings that were pretty close to where they landed.

Originally Posted by Station 13

Barnes is starting at what level?

I would guess that they'd follow the model they used for Ranaudo and start him at Salem (A+). They tend to push the guys with significant college experience (JR/SR) up a level to start.

Originally Posted by Wake's Fastball

And not even really that- he had one blow-up start in late July (7 ER in 3 2/3) and outside of that didn't allow more than 4 ER in a start all season.

Personally I think the makeup for a strong 2012 is there. He struck out a lot of guys, and I think with a full season under his belt he may be able to avoid some of the fatigue problems that set in to end 2011. He's got two plus pitches with a big arm. The upside is there for him to really take a step forward this year.

From what I've read, scouts were mixed. He started and finished well but hit a rough patch midseason. Those who saw him midseason had a negative impression; those who saw the ends or samplings over the whole season were more positive. I'd guess building innings/stamina after surgery had an impact on the season.

The main critique that I'm concerned about is that he sometimes lets the game get to him and he needs to control those emotions better. That could be a problem if he fails to realize that he's not simply going to dominate hitters as he did when he faced lineups with 6-9 guys who would not event make it to the lowest rung of the MLB farm system.